Towards European harmonisation of contagious equine metritis diagnosis through interlaboratory trials.

The research study is about evaluating and comparing the effectiveness of two methods—culture method and Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) — used to diagnose contagious equine metritis (CEM), a sexually transmitted infection in horses, through two interlaboratory trials in 24 European labs.

Summary of Research

In this study, scientists conducted two interlaboratory trials with 24 European laboratories, 22 of which were National Reference Laboratories for CEM, to assess the performance of both culture and PCR diagnostic methods for CEM. The swab samples used were artificially contaminated with bacteria found in the genital tract of Equidae.

Comparison of Methods

The scientists compared the performance of both diagnostic methods in two respects:

• Specificity, which refers to the ability of the diagnostic method to correctly identify positive samples.
• Sensitivity, which refers to the ability of the diagnosis method to correctly identify negative samples.

Results

PCR Method

PCRs performance was better in terms of both specificity and sensitivity. This supports the idea that PCR is a more reliable method for diagnosing CEM.

Culture Method

The culture method performed better in the second trial than in the first trial, indicating that the skill level and expertise of participating laboratory members had likely improved between the two trials.

Recommendations and Conclusions

The researchers concluded the necessity of regular interlaboratory trials for the continuous improvement of laboratory expertise. They also recommended the development of new culture media that are more selective or better suited to the metabolism of bacteria causing CEM to enhance the bacteriological diagnosis of the condition.